Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder

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When I purchased my budget lamb pack a few weeks ago, it came with a big piece of lamb, that I wrongly assumed was a leg. When I got it out to cook, I realised it was actually a shoulder, which made sense since the shoulder is a much cheaper cut of lamb than the leg. Not to worry though, a quick Google search revealed that lamb shoulder is perfect for slow cooking.

Since I am still relatively new to cooking meat, I prefer using the slow cooker, as it reduces the risk of overcooking the meat. And, as I realised when I roasted a chicken in the slow cooker, you don’t have to fill the slow cooker with liquid, you can use it like a mini oven for roasting. The advantage of that in my kitchen is that I can then use the (small) oven to roast my veggies at the same time.

Because there is a fair amount of fat on the shoulder, you end up some delicious juices in the bottom of the cooker, which adds to the flavour, and can be used as a gravy. Any leftovers can be used to flavour sauces or brown meat. And of course you’re left with bones at the end to make homemade bone broth.

Ingredients

1 lamb shoulder, bone in (about 1-1.5kg)

1 head of garlic

1 Tbsp dried rosemary

1 Tbsp olive oil

Method

Peel the garlic cloves, then slash the fat side of the lamb shoulder in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Place half of the garlic cloves into the cuts and the other half into the bottom of the slow cooker. Do the same with the rosemary.

Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it into the slow cooker with the fat side up. Cook on High for around 4 hours or Low for around 8 hours, until the meat is soft and tender and falling off the bone.

Enjoy with roasted veggies (especially Brussels sprouts!), and spoon some of the juices on top of the meat for a gravy.

That is another great suggestion for slow-cooking. I am really relying on the slow-cooker at the moment to have a meal on the table in between work / after-school activities. We’d use the left-over meat for days in sandwiches as well. Great recipe idea!

Welcome

Hi, I'm Liz. I love real, good-quality food and want to make it accessible to everyone. In my other life I'm a PhD student, so I understand the challenges of eating real food on a budget. On this blog I share tips and recipes to make real food easy. Read more...